© Getty Images

Making The Call – Shining A Light On StrategyTelling the story of the people who can help win or lose a race.

2021'sFrenchGrandPrixwasaheart-in-mouthraceforeveryRedBullRacingHondateammemberandfan.EspeciallyHeadofRaceStrategyWillCourtenay,whowasonthepitwallatCircuitPaulRicard.

It was Will and his team’s call to concede track position and bring Max in for a second pit stop, giving the Dutchman 20 laps to make up the 18 seconds he had lost out to Lewis. It worked, with Max retaking the lead with under two laps to go, which led Christian Horner to summarise it as one “Ballsy call!“

Pulling Off That All Important Stop© Getty Images

So, to be able to make such a big call at a pivotal time in a race, what exactly do the strategists do? And how do they come to the decisions that will be the difference between winning and losing? To find out, we sat down with Will and Senior Strategy Engineer Hannah Schmitz.

Hannah and Will work very much as a unit and share their role. At every race, one will be trackside and the other will be back in the Operations Room at the Team’s Milton Keynes HQ providing support. But the work starts well before either of them are trackside.

We have a preview report and look at all the strategies we might follow and from that we will say what the likely strategy will be.Will Courtenay

“We start long before we even set off for the race,” said Will. “We have a preview report and look at all the strategies we might follow and from that we will say what the likely strategy will be. But once we get to the track, we take the data from Friday’s practice, see what the weather will be like, how the tyres are performing, how the pace of the car is and that will evolve our strategy for qualifying and maybe for the race.”

Will And Christian Chat in 2020© Getty Images

It doesn’t end there though; Will and Hannah will evolve their strategy during the race. “So if there is a safety car, we have a good start or a bad start, or there is an incident, we will always have an idea of what we plan to do, but that plan will always be evolving and will either be a reaction to things that happen or trying to pre-empt things that might happen so we always know what we are going to do,” Will added.

We usually review the last three years of data for that track so we can work out what we think the tyres will do.Hannah Schmitz

The team create a ‘preview’ report way ahead of each race using plenty of pre-collected data. “We usually review the last three years of data for that track so we can work out what we think the tyres will do,” explained Hannah. “Then we have all our recent race analysis that gives us an idea of the paces and where we think the rest of the field are compared to us and that can obviously affect your strategy. We’ll think about when we will be able to make our first pit stops by.”

The report is put together so there is a plan in place of what the Team thinks will be the most likely strategy, “But if the wear is much worse than we expected we will already have worked out how we would change our plan. This is so people are aware of the sensitivities and things that might affect what we are going to do, and we have to do it as early as possible so we know which tyres we are going to be using for Friday and which tyres we will have left for Saturday and then the race,” said Hannah.

Hannah On The Pit Wall In 2020© Getty Images

Will and Hannah very much work behind the scenes, but they have as much pressure on them as anyone else, maybe even more when it comes to making a call, so being prepared is essential, “To some extent the better prepared you can be the more likely you are to make the right decisions and the less stress you should feel because you can have more confidence in that you are making the right decision,” explained Will. “But there will always be stuff that you’re not sure about and there will always be unknowns. There will always be a certain amount of uncertainty about it, so the pressure is already there, particularly if you are winning or fighting for a victory, you don’t want to make a mistake. The more preparation you can do the easier your life is.”

Despite all the preparation, there is still gut feeling and experience influencing your decisions and thoughts throughout the race.Hannah Schmitz

Hannah adds: “I think the thing with strategy is that there are often grey areas – not always a right or wrong answer – like you should definitely 100 per cent do this. There are always things you are watching in the race and it’s always a bit of mental calculation, even though we have software. So, despite all the preparation, there is still gut feeling and experience influencing your decisions and thoughts throughout the race. I still feel the race is the bit where you have the adrenaline and kind of feel in the heat of it.”

You back yourself with it, I think if you weren’t confident you probably couldn’t do the job I guess.Will Courtenay

Being the person that the Team turn to and the one to make the call means you need an unquestionable belief in your own ability and your Team. “You back yourself with it, I think if you weren’t confident you probably couldn’t do the job I guess,” said Will. “I think if you say we are going to pit if the Safety Car comes out, you can’t dither about it, you need to decide yes or no which is it going to be, you really need to appear confident even if it’s only 80/20% the right thing to do, but you have got to make that call.”

“You can feel the panic during that Safety Car, you definitely have to appear confident even if you don’t feel it,” added Hannah.

Leading The Pack Behind The Safety Car© Getty Images

ThePerfectRace

Everyone has an opinion on what would make the perfect Formula One race, but the strategist’s point of view may be different from many others. “It’s all about the final result,” said Will. “If we qualify on pole and we disappear off into the distance and we really don’t have to make any difficult strategy decisions that’s all fine. I guess for us doing a good strategy is making the most of opportunities and getting a better finish position than we otherwise would have.”

“It’s nice to feel you have helped the win happen,” agreed Hannah. “So, if you made a good call under a Safety Car or have made a good strategy decision that you think has helped to secure the win, then that makes the race even better.”

One of my biggest was in China in 2018. Because of that decision we won the race so I was pretty pleased.Will Courtenay

With Will and Hannah working as a Team, the one at track is the person who must tell the Team what they’re doing and when they’re going to do it. It’s up to them to make some of the biggest calls. “One of my biggest was in China in 2018,” said Will. “About two thirds of the race was complete when the Safety Car came out. We decided to pit Max and Daniel, but everyone else stayed out on track. It turned out that those pit stops, although we did not know at the time, were the right thing to do. It made a huge difference; Daniel was able to overtake all the cars in front of him and win the race. Max would probably have done the same, but he had a bit of an off and lost some progress, however because of that decision we won the race so I was pretty pleased about that.”

Bulls Lead After The Safety Car Restart In Brazil© Vladimir Rys

Hannah’s favourite moment was also during a Safety Car decision. “Mine would be Brazil 2019. That was because we had to give up the lead to pit underneath the safety car, it was just us and Lewis Hamilton, so it was clear that they would do the opposite to us. But the decision was either, are you going to stay out and try to defend? Or are going to lose the lead and then try to get it back against Hamilton? And that’s not just anyone you’re giving the lead up to! I made the call to pit and it was the right decision and we won the race.”

Both our strategists have had the honour of collecting the constructor’s trophy after a successful race. “It was absolutely fantastic to stand on the podium,” said Will. “My first was back in 2011, so it was a while ago, but it was quite a surprise and obviously a great honour to go and get it, an absolute thrill. It was Mark and Seb in Brazil, it was a one-two as well.”

Will On The Brazil Podium In 2011© Getty Images

“Yes, it was amazing and I really wasn’t expecting it,” said Hannah. “We were not winning many races in 2019, so the list was small and I did not think I would be going up on the podium. I was a bit surprised and thought: ‘Oh what do I do? where do I go?’ It was amazing and I kept looking around so I could take it all in. It was a very special moment,” concluded Hannah.

There you have it, you now know everything about strategy and how decisions are made. So when you’re watching the next race and see Will or Hannah on the pit wall, you’ll understand what they’re doing and why.

Senior Strategy Engineer Hannah Schmitz Shares The Win With The Drivers© Getty Images